Apple updates iPad with Lightning, A6X, “global” LTE support

Replaces existing third-generation iPad six months early.

At a special media event on Tuesday, Apple announced that it would begin shipping a new fourth-generation iPad on November 2. The updated device features Apple's new Lightning connector introduced on the iPhone 5 and fifth-generation iPod touch. In addition, it will also include a custom-designed A6X processer and a newer Qualcomm 4G LTE baseband chip that is compatible with more LTE networks around the globe.

The revision comes just six months before Apple typically launches new iPad hardware around late March or early April. However, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple was "putting its foot on the gas" and revising the iPad even faster than before.

Jacqui Cheng

The new A6X processor is built around the custom ARM core Apple designed for the iPhone 5, which offers twice the processing performance of the A5X. However, it has apparently included some changes to the graphics cores used, as Apple claims it also has double the graphics performance as well.

Additionally, the LTE chip seems to have been upgraded to the same Qualcomm MDM9615 baseband chip used in the iPhone 5. This makes the device compatible with far more 4G LTE networks around the world, instead of being limited to North American LTE networks like the third-generation design.

Jacqui Cheng

In addition to updating the processor and LTE capability, Apple improved several other aspects the iPad. Wi-Fi performance has been doubled, and the FaceTime camera has been updated to a 720p HD unit. Even with the changes, the fourth-gen iPad has a 10-hour battery life.

The fourth-generation iPad will come in the same configurations as the third-gen devices it replaces, beginning at $499 for a 16GB Wi-Fi model, and $629 for a 16GB Wi-Fi + 4G model. 32GB and 64GB options are available as well. Pre-orders for the new iPad begin on Friday, October 26, with Wi-Fi models shipping on November 2. Apple's Phil Schiller said that LTE-capable models would begin shipping two weeks later, on November 16.

Apple is keeping the iPad 2 around as a lower-cost 9.7" tablet option, with 16GB Wi-Fi models staying at $399, while the Wi-Fi + 3G model sells for $529.

Wonder if Apple saw, for the first time really, sufficient traction from Amazon and to a lesser extent Google and B&N, and felt the need to jump into holiday before waiting until Spring to refresh.

I'm sure the iPhone taught them a lesson in that their competition can be very good at catching up and surpassing them if they don't take it seriously from day 1. This feels like an application of that lesson.

I may be too much of a spendthrift (and I definitely have anxiety disorder), but if "putting the foot on the gas" means an update every 6 months, I'd be constantly anxious about how much I spent on a product and wondering if the next update would perhaps be a better buy.

I mean, at what point are there enough diminishing returns where I can feel comfortable knowing that my product won't feel out of date in 6 months time?

I may be too much of a spendthrift (and I definitely have anxiety disorder), but if "putting the foot on the gas" means an update every 6 months, I'd be constantly anxious about how much I spent on a product and wondering if the next update would perhaps be a better buy.

Apple is 6 months away from having an answer to Google's very capable and very low-priced tablet as well as an answer from yet another holiday season by a huge player, Amazon. This was a necessary move for them.

I don't see them doing anything in March, unless there's either another big push by another tablet maker that jumps over their capabilities (unlikely) or if they want to be the ones to do another big push to decidedly put themselves ahead of the competition.

One thing that seems pretty sweet about the new iPad is the HDMI-out. We use the iPad to stream a lot of downloaded media using Plex Media Server from our PC. It'd be neat to hook the iPad up to the TV and stream to the big screen.

As a fairly recent iPad 3 purchaser, this is pretty infuriating. It doesn't bother me from a gadget porn perspective--there's always going to be something later and greater. It's the fact that developers are now going to be coding for that new A6X processor. The performance of the apps is going to go straight downhill and I will have no recourse.

This was a pretty disappointing announcement. I feel rather disrespected as a customer.

As a fairly recent iPad 3 purchaser, this is pretty infuriating. It doesn't bother me from a gadget porn perspective--there's always going to be something later and greater. It's the fact that developers are now going to be coding for that new A6X processor. The performance of the apps is going to go straight downhill and I will have no recourse.

This was a pretty disappointing announcement. I feel rather disrespected as a customer.

There are still going to be enormous numbers of devices being sold without A6 series processors so developers can't be too complacent about only targeting the top of the market.

As a fairly recent iPad 3 purchaser, this is pretty infuriating. It doesn't bother me from a gadget porn perspective--there's always going to be something later and greater. It's the fact that developers are now going to be coding for that new A6X processor. The performance of the apps is going to go straight downhill and I will have no recourse.

This was a pretty disappointing announcement. I feel rather disrespected as a customer.

So Apple is supposed to delay updating its products just to keep you happy?

As a fairly recent iPad 3 purchaser, this is pretty infuriating. It doesn't bother me from a gadget porn perspective--there's always going to be something later and greater. It's the fact that developers are now going to be coding for that new A6X processor. The performance of the apps is going to go straight downhill and I will have no recourse.

This was a pretty disappointing announcement. I feel rather disrespected as a customer.

That wasn't true when we went from the iPad 2 to the iPad 3, and it won't be true this time around either.

for iPad 3 owners this reduces the value of the investment pretty drastically. Instead of a full year of being current and then moving into a -1 cycle, you barely come in at 6 months. Much less of a value proposition for a companion device. very disappointing.

for iPad 3 owners this reduces the value of the investment pretty drastically. Instead of a full year of being current and then moving into a -1 cycle, you barely come in at 6 months. Much less of a value proposition for a companion device. very disappointing.

That wasn't true when we went from the iPad 2 to the iPad 3, and it won't be true this time around either.

Going from the iPad 2 to the iPad 3, it got a faster GPU but that GPU was pushing four times the pixels so it wasn't exactly a performance improvement. Possibly it was even a performance downgrade depending on who you believe. The iPad 4 is different - it has a much faster GPU driving the same display as the 3 and the extra speed was apparently desperately wanted by app developers, so there's a good chance new games and apps just won't run well on the 3.

for iPad 3 owners this reduces the value of the investment pretty drastically. Instead of a full year of being current and then moving into a -1 cycle, you barely come in at 6 months. Much less of a value proposition for a companion device. very disappointing.

By FSM's noodley appendage, the trolls are working overtime today.

New iPad has double the CPU power for the same price, but let's complain about Apple not waiting an extra six months to ship it.

As a fairly recent iPad 3 purchaser, this is pretty infuriating. It doesn't bother me from a gadget porn perspective--there's always going to be something later and greater. It's the fact that developers are now going to be coding for that new A6X processor. The performance of the apps is going to go straight downhill and I will have no recourse.

This was a pretty disappointing announcement. I feel rather disrespected as a customer.

You hit the nail on the head. I'm an iPad 3 owner and I'm fairly pissed about this. Not because there's "something new" or "something better" out now but because of the fact that Apple chose to do it just SIX MONTHS after releasing the iPad 3. Like you said, the app developers will probably be optimizing everything for the A6X now so performance is going to take a hit eventually. It also makes me wonder what "exclusive iOS features" the new iPad will get in future iOS updates that the third-generation one will not. I feel like Apple just took a dump all over everybody who bought one in the last six months. If they knew they were going to do an iPad refresh around this time, they should have skipped the last iPad and waited to release this one and extended it from a year to a year and a half between updates like they did from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4S.

There are still going to be enormous numbers of devices being sold without A6 series processors so developers can't be too complacent about only targeting the top of the market.

True--and efficient application (both native and Web) take this into account. Especially with Apple, Google, and now Microsoft pushing more HTML5/CSS3 implementation.

More people worldwide (including developing nations) are accessing content via mobile devices. And even the latest and greatest devices can be hampered by slow connections. It's at developer's own peril to design only for optimal conditions...

As a fairly recent iPad 3 purchaser, this is pretty infuriating. It doesn't bother me from a gadget porn perspective--there's always going to be something later and greater. It's the fact that developers are now going to be coding for that new A6X processor. The performance of the apps is going to go straight downhill and I will have no recourse.

This was a pretty disappointing announcement. I feel rather disrespected as a customer.

So Apple is supposed to delay updating its products just to keep you happy?

No, not just him. Apple should call ALL of the owners of the previous versions of its products and get permission from them all before releasing the next version. Otherwise, Apple is just being evil and greedy.

As a fairly recent iPad 3 purchaser, this is pretty infuriating. It doesn't bother me from a gadget porn perspective--there's always going to be something later and greater. It's the fact that developers are now going to be coding for that new A6X processor. The performance of the apps is going to go straight downhill and I will have no recourse.

This was a pretty disappointing announcement. I feel rather disrespected as a customer.

That wasn't true when we went from the iPad 2 to the iPad 3, and it won't be true this time around either.

Agreed. Apple is still selling the iPad 2, with an A5 processor, so developers would be wise to keep that as an acceptable performance target. Likewise, the iPhone 4S and iPod touch 5 all use an A5 processor. You'll probably see some apps that may have additional improvements on newer hardware, but it's not like devs are going to ignore this huge segment of the market.